Umbirab
The Republic of Ūmbirab (Rabydosian: "Undying City") is a landlocked nation located at the far southern reach of the supercontinent of Palkyras. It is surrounded by Rabydos to the north of the Awildesh River, and a large east-west mountain range that stretch to the south. Flag and symbols Umbirab's flag is a rectangular banner in bright blue, with a yellow stripe at its bottom and a yellow chalice above it. The bright blue background represents honour, the yellow stripe for discipline, and the chalice for its namesake immortals who reside there. Umbirab's national bird is the phoenix, as it represents the nation's immortal rulers and majority. Geography Umbirab is a temperate nation, with snowy winters in June and cool summers in December. Its north consists of slopes of grassland and pine forests, and much of its territory consists of mountainous pine forests. Beyond those mountains to the south lie frozen ice wastes. History Umbirab was established around 8,000 years before the Tornarin Bombardment. Just after Rabydos was founded by Zaradim colonists, several outlaws and intellectuals founded Umbirab to hide several secrets from Rabydos' leaders, who supposedly planned to use them to create super-soldiers. When those leaders passed away or were overthrown, Umbirab became a haven for immortals, dissidents, and outcasts from Rabydosian society. When a team of scientists have successfully grown meat in their laboratory, the country gradually implemented lab-grown food as its meat, and sold much of its livestock and materials from its demolished slaughterhouses to Rabydos and its neighbours. Over time, exports of its minerals and artificial meat have made the country richer than Rabydos, that the president of Rabydos enacted a tax upon Umbirab to earn a portion of its profit. Economy Due to being more stable, resilient, and technologically-advanced than its northern neighbour, Umbirab enjoys a developed economy, on par with richer nations such as Marnos and Bujan. Many Rabydosians come to Umbirab as assistants, staff, and cleaners, since they get better pay there than they do in their homeland. The Umbirabian economy is supported by mining, manufacturing, and the mass production of chemicals and synthetic substances. It is also fuelled by money spent by other nations for research projects. As the bodies of Umbirab's immortals require more energy than normal humans, they rely on vertical farms and lab-grown meat to grow their crops. They sold much of their livestock to Rabydos and its neighbours when they grew their own meat in plants all over the country: they only used chemicals and water to grow a kilogram of beef in half an hour. They also sell any surplus food to nearby countries and scientific teams that go into the southern ice wastes, as their meat was not very popular elsewhere due to its bland taste. Demographics The majority of Umbirabians are tan-skinned, curly-haired humans of ethnic Rabydosian descent. What is notable about them is that unlike their northerly neighbours, many of them are immortals, descended from mutants whose lifespans were enhanced to live as adults for hundreds of years. Six major demographic groups form the mainstay of Umbirab's people: * immortals (people with extended lifespans who cannot age), * mutants (dangerous humans with superpowers), * aliens (most non-humans, while some races such as Arnadjanai and Epadwaranai had intermarried with humans, grafting themselves to the human species. In Umbirab, they are still counted as aliens because of their DNA), * Greyfolk (a pale species of hominid, close relatives to the rest of humanity), * Ontemazei (among the most hated aliens on Jerde, colourful hair and skin -- most on Jerde follow Vozonid cultures), * and "hybrids" (mostly children of human-Ontemazei unions who are told apart by their colourful hair). Culture Due to its cooler climate and snows, hockey has become Umbirab's national sport. Foreign relations Rabydos Rabydos is Umbirab's "mother country", and the source of its people and traditional culture. Every year on April 1, Umbirab's government pays 10 percent of its exports' profits to the Rabydosian economy. In return, Rabydos is expected to continue friendly relations with Umbirab. Trivia * Umbirab might be inspired by Nepal, Switzerland, Singapore, Rivendell, and the mountainous areas of northern Canada and Alaska. * Umbirab and Rabydos speak a language that resembles Akkadian and Arabic. Even though both of their languages are mutually intelligible, Umbirabian has a slightly different pronunciation. Umbirabian also sounds "lazy and shortened" to a Rabydosian speaker, and Rabydosian would sound "quick and old-fashioned" to an Umbirabian speaker. * As much of their meat is grown from labs, any livestock in Umbirab is usually raised as pets, as test subjects in experiments, or as sacrifices in some festivals. Their meat is derived from cow, chicken (with their eggs too), fish, duck, and goat cells. ** Roosters have become a popular, trendy pet in Umbirab no thanks to imported Vozonid comedies. Any roosters that were killed were then cut up into genetic stock for the meat labs. ** Umbirabian lab-grown eggs are considered tastier than local egg varieties. Category:Republics Category:The Free World Category:Peculiar Rabydosverse nations Category:Mutants